Test-Based Teacher Evaluations: Accountability vs. Responsibility

Gert Biesta contends that managerial accountability, which focuses on efficiency and competition, dominates the current political arena in education. Such accountability has influenced states' developments of test-based teacher evaluations in an attempt to quantify teachers' efficacy on student learning. With numerous state policies requiring the use of student test data to influence decisions regarding teacher pay, tenure, and contract renewals, the significance of this discussion should not be overlooked. During the 2013-2014 school year, Ohio implemented the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES), linking half of a teacher's evaluation to student growth. This paper briefly summarizes OTES and discusses its implied notions of accountability and responsibility, and critiques OTES as a form of disciplinary power with various consequences and potential responses for educators. The purpose of this paper is to examine the notions of accountability and responsibility as related to current teacher evaluation policies in an attempt to stimulate a conversation about two questions: (1) What does a discourse of high-stakes accountability within OTES imply about a teacher's responsibility in education?; and (2) What are the consequences and subsequent implications for educators?